Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus hasn’t played for Arsenal since before the World Cup, but the Brazil international will be back after recovering from a knee injury
Gabriel Jesus gave Arsenal fans something to cheer for when he was involved in his first full training session with the club since November.
The Brazilian striker, a fixture for his new club at the start of the season, was injured while representing his country at the World Cup in Qatar. The knee problem eventually required surgery, forcing Arsenal to use substitutes Eddie Nketiah and Leandro Trossard at the point of their attack.
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta was reluctant to commit to a concrete return date for the 25-year-old, who arrived from Manchester City in a £45m summer transfer. Jesus, however, returned to action and was tested ahead of Thursday’s Europa League match against Sporting Lisbon.
Arsenal travel to Portugal after beating Bournemouth for their fourth straight Premier League win. This came at a cost, however, as Trossard was signed with an injury in January.
“It worries me, he came to me straight away and told me he couldn’t go on, he felt something on his way home so we had to undress him. We will examine him and see how he is. going,” Arteta said after the Belgian lasted less than half an hour.
Trossard and Nketiah were both absent from training which may have called Jesus into action earlier than expected. However, if the Brazilian isn’t ready, Gabriel Martinelli could return to the central role he took on for part of the game against Bournemouth.
Kieran Tierney was also absent from the meeting. The left-back will miss Thursday’s game through illness. The Scotland international netted the winner for Arsenal in their final group game at home to FC Zurich to ensure Arteta’s side finished top of their group.
The last 16 could be an option for Jakub Kiwior, who was signed in January to make his long-awaited debut. The Poland international has been on the bench in the last seven Premier League games but is yet to hit the pitch. “What is Mikel Arteta looking at? I think he’s looking at everything,” Kiwior said in a recent interview with the Polish football federation. “I thought if we were two or three goals up I’d have a chance, but I’m waiting patiently. Everyone would like to play.”
There was also some concern for Emile Smith Rowe after the England international was replaced by the Cherries and then replaced by goalscorer Reiss Nelson. However, Arteta downplayed suggestions that injury was responsible for his retirement.
“We didn’t intend to put him so early in the game,” said the Spaniard. “We knew it was difficult for him to last 70 minutes on the pitch after missing football for nearly five months.
“I think he was a good influence in the game and ultimately I felt we needed something different, especially on the left side because we didn’t have a threat and were attracting more players to that side. That’s why we made the decision to go to take Reiss.” .”